In class tonight I really enjoyed both topics. On the topic of inclusion in the classroom, I enjoyed listening to Kathy and her examples of inclusion. One thing I learned tonight from that topic was that parents can refuse to abide by the IEP recommendations and send their child somewhere else by paying for it themselves. I always thought the parents had to abide by that districts IEP recommendations. Now that I think about it, it does make sense that parents truely have the final say. In the situation she presented it sounds like a really tough situation for the little boy. All the hard work that the public teachers did for all those years to get the little boy to where he was, is now withering away. My personal opinion is that this poor little boy is now being treated like a caged animal, unable to do anything or learn anything. He is not being treated like a human being with interactions and true social contacts. It is a very sad situation that the parents refused to listen to the trained specialized teachers who knew how this boy could flourish. My heart goes out to him.

As for the topic of homeschooling, I learned tonight that not all 50 states had the same regulations. As I look at the numbers, the 10 states that do not have any regulations with the parents not being required to notify the state just floor me. I wonder what states those are and think about all those children that are falling through societies cracks. Who are their parents, are they truely homeschooled or just forgotten? I think if we (the United States) are going to allow homeschooling, then each family that practices this must report to the state, take the same standardized tests, use state approved curriculum, and be inspected by state officials. Otherwise, a drug user with children might not ever send their children to school and tell other neighbors that their children are being homeschooled. How will a state know the truth unless the family is held accountable. There must be some follow up. There are probably some really good homeschooling experiences out there but I also feel there are bad ones too. In order to wipe out the bad ones, the states must form together laws that hold the family accountable. Maybe, social services could get involved too by helping out state officials and making home visits to make sure the children are being educated and the home environment is a safe and healthy place.